Beast on the Moon – Raven Theater

Aram Tomasian is an Armenian immigrant living in 1920’s Milwaukee who has escaped the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 by the Turks in his homeland in Eastern Turkey. He wants to make a fresh start and build a new family in the new world to replace the family he lost to the genocide. He selects a mail-order bride and into his life comes an Armenian teen-ager, Seta, who has also escaped the vicious grip of the Ottoman warlords. He learns that building a marriage and a family is more difficult than he anticipated, but he ultimately succeeds in unexpected and heart-warming ways.

Q-Tips say: Enjoyed it. Mrs. Q says: This play has nothing to do with the moon landing. It is a story that deals with survivors of the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900’s and what happens to the lives of the survivors afterward. The genocide was the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians, a grisly process that included forced marches, crucifixions, decapitations and sexual assault, among other acts of violence. Despite the serious subject matter there is a sprinkling of humor. Strong performances by the entire cast.